Turtle egg poaching at Playa Junquillal in Guanacaste has taken a sharp
rise — just a couple of months after conservationists said the practice
had been almost wiped out.

The World Wildlife Fund, which has been working with local people to
combat the problem, announced in September how the fund's efforts had
wiped out the illegal activity.

But Gabriel Francia, the man behind the awareness project, said there
has been a recent spike in poaching in the area to about 25 percent.

He blamed the increase on a population surge, saying the likely
culprits were people who are living in the area for short periods of
time, such as those working in the booming Guanacaste construction
trade.

They don’t have children in the schools, and they don’t have any
long-term relationship with the area, he added.

Francia earlier had said in a press release about the first arrivals of
the leatherback species for the nesting season how poaching had dropped
from 100 percent to nearly zero.

The World Wildlife Fund has been working with the Junquillal, Paraiso
and Pargos communities for two years in a project known as the Pacific
Leatherback Conservation Project.

One of the key planks of the project involves working with children in
the local schools. Francia said the hope is that youngsters will take
the message about the dangers of turtle egg poaching home to their
parents.

Valerie Guthrie, another of the project organizers, said they can’t
completely rule out locals as responsible since eating turtle eggs is
“super cultural” in Junquillal. But she said moves were now being made
to work in conjunction with the construction companies to disseminate
the same message.

Local hotel owner Rainer Frommlet said the project had been successful,
but estimates that around 50 percent of local people continue to flout
the law.

“The ratio of those who respect the turtles to those who don’t is
probably still 50-50,” he said. “But before it was probably 70-30
against.”

A.M. Costa Rica/Bryan Kay

Menor and Jaime Jen await the end of egg laying by an
olive ridley turtle so they can hide them elsewhere.

Reformed poachers Jaime and Menor Jen, two of the local
volunteers,
blame much of the residual poaching on alcoholics who steal the eggs
and sell them.

“The problem with alcoholics is they take them so they can get a
drink,” said Jaime Jen. “They sell them for 2,000 or 3,000 colons for
100.” That's from about $4 to nearly $6.

During a recent night patrol of the beaches at Junquillal, the two men
told a reporter how they had been unaware of the damage they were
causing to marine turtle populations until the project began.

Pacific leatherbacks — one of three species the Junquillal project
works with, along with the olive
ridley and the black — are an endangered species. Biologists say that
numbers have dropped by around 90 percent in the last two decades. Egg
poaching has been identified as part of the problem, but accidental
catches by fishermen, climate change and coastal development have also
been cited as factors.

Meanwhile, as the Jen brothers spoke of their fondness for the
creatures, an olive ridley emerged from the sea to lay eggs.

The pair waited patiently as the turtle laid 106 eggs in a nest it had
burrowed in the sand. Then the two men collected the eggs and put them
in another spot where poachers will be less likely to find them.

They carry out the patrols every night, but claim they have no
intention of returning to their old ways.

“We learned about the
problems in the sea and the numbers. Plus, they are beautiful,” added
Jaime Jen.

A.M. Costa Rica/Bryan Kay

Volunteers maintain an enclosure designed to protect
turtle nests and their eggs.

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While I realize you were likely translating an article from La
Nación or other Spanish-language news source, I'd like to point
out that there is nothing "romantic" about a sexual encounter between a
grown man and a 12-year-old girl, even if he did pay her the princely
sum of 1,000 colons.

By definition (according to the Cambridge online dictionary) sex is "
sexual activity involving the penis or vagina, especially when a man
puts his penis into a woman's vagina." There are many more
definitions given, of course, but this doesn't seem the the venue to
produce them all.

Romance is defined as "a close, usually short relationship of love
between two people." An example is given: "They married after a
whirlwind romance." Again, many more variations follow.

As the published author of 44 romance novels in several sub-genres
under the main umbrella of "romance," I find it odd that people
(unfortunately, mostly male people) automatically equate sex with
romance. The two, while they often complement each other (and always do
in my novels), are not one and the same.

I sincerely doubt the 12-year-old in the article felt romantic about
the man, or he about her. In many jurisdictions the sexual act for
which he paid would be considered statutory rape. The man deserves to
be in jail. I could also suggest castration, horsewhipping or other
draconian punishments, but I expect the child (if he asked) lied about
her age because she desperately wanted the money he offered.

Judy Gill

EDITOR'S NOTE: A.M. Costa Rica does not copy or translate news
stories from the Spanish-language press. That would be stealing. As to
the man caught with the 12-year-old, he received six years and now will
face an additional allegation of paying a bribe to two policemen.

The world needs more of him. A positive attitude and a friendly hug
could all do us some good. I want to express to Michael
Sánchez ‘’KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.’’

R. Everman
Guanacaste/Tampa. Florida

Garbage at Puntarenas dock
turns off cruise ship visitors

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I hear and read so many complaints about Costa Rica that it makes me
sick. I love this little country, so much that I usually make
people sick telling them how wonderful it is and that the people are
awesome. I love the people, I love the climate, and I love being
able to live well on my income, and I'm by no means rich.

When I hear people complain, my reply is "you know they still sell
one-way tickets back to where you came from," but they don't want to
hear that. I have done all I can to help the little community I
live in and love it, and have gotten everything back tenfold. My
passion is a small home for children, which I help support.

BUT, I do have one remark, which I have a hard time
understanding. Tourism is the NO. 1 moneymaker for Costa Rica,
and the airport looks nice, nicer than some in other third world
countries, and the tours are amazing.

Last Sunday I had six family members who were on a two-week cruise, and
they were going to be in Puntarenas for the day so me and two friends
drove over to spend the day with them. I was shocked at the
debarkation point.

It was filthy, trash along the boardwalk, there was trash everywhere
and the first thing you see is a park that is dilapidated, and a
building that is closed up and looks like it is falling down.

There looked to be at least 30 huge buses there to pick up tourists
that were going on excursions, You would think, with labor as low
as it is here, each bus could be charged a 5,000-colon fee to pick up
clients there and use that money to hire about 10-15 people who I'm
sure could use the money, to keep that area picked up and clean, like
they do in downtown San José.

My family made the remark that their "first impression" was not a very
good one, and I was embarrassed, since I had built our little country
up so. First impressions do last and that is sad, especially in a
situation that would be so easy fixed.

You know, when you invite people to your home for a visit, you at least
pick up and make it presentable, and I can't say that for where the
cruise ships land in Puntarenas. So lets' sweep the floors and
pick up the trash before inviting people over.

James Overstreet
Santo Domingo de Heredia

Reader offers clarifications
on some statistical points

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I don't disagree with most of Michael Crow's opinions, but I think his
use of statistical exaggeration to make his points undermines his
credibility.

1. Bankruptcy has been made more difficult recently, but it is not
illegal.

In Christian theology, Jesus Christ was placed in a manger shortly
after birth. A manger is normally where hay is placed for cows and
other animals.

But in Costa Rica the relationship is less abstract. Cows mean the
start of the Christmas season, and, with luck, a harbinger of the dry
season.

Each year oxcart hobbyists and their giant animals gather at Parque la
Sabana and then carry life-size statues of saints and other religious
figures in their carts into downtown San José.

The parade this year is next Sunday, according to the Municipalidad de
San José. This is one of the biggest gatherings of the boyeros
and their bueyes. The oxcart operators will lead their animals,
usually two abreast, from the foot of Paseo Colón into the
downtown.

The parade is scheduled to start at 9 a.m., but oxen are notoriously
unconcerned with the time. Animals, their drivers and the carts
will pass a reviewing stand.

The oxcart is a symbol of Costa Rica, even though the bright paint on
the carts and their wooden wheels was not typical until an Italian
immigrant started using bright colors in the early part of the 20th
century in Escazú.

The carts have been the workhorse of the Costa Rican transportation
system. They were the principal way coffee beans reached the Pacific
ports until they were displaced by the railroad. Oxen still are used on
farms for hauling wood and other chores that require brawn. They have
the bulk and muscles of mature bulls, but they have been surgically
altered to improve their disposition. Many teams are led by 8-year-old
and 9-year-old boys and girls using a steel-tipped wand to remind the
animals of the correct direction.

The mystique of the boyero in Costa Rica approaches that

A.M. Costa Rica file photo

Most boyeros cannot envision Heaven without their animals.
These are being blessed with holy water during the 2006 festival.

of the cowboy in the American West. Visitors will have a chance to
sample some of the traditions the day before the parade. Many of the
participants will camp overnight in Parque la Sabana around the Estadio
Nacional on the northwest corner.

There will be songs, cookouts and a
taste of 19th century life.

Young people seek to claim just portions of national budgets

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

An unusual encounter between Guatemalan and Costa Rican young people
resulted in a call for more emphasis on youth by government agencies.

The encounter was part of the final day of a regional conference on the
prevention of violence against children.

The conference was set up by the U.N. Children's Fund, and it resulted
in agreement among the participants to work to eliminate all forms of
violence against children, including corporal punishment.

On the other hand, the participants agreed that there has been rising
insecurity over the last 10 years in the region and that youth crime
and violence is increasing. The participants acknowledged that more
data is needed on youth crime and violence.

The encounter was between a Guatemalan youth theater group and
youngsters from Costa Rica. The young people wrote a declaration in
which they said that their peers in Latin America represent the
majority and that they deserve more recognition in budgetary
decision-making and participation, said a summary from the United
Nations.

The young people called for improved
education, more cultural activities, improved healthcare, more laws and
better enforcement against the exploitation of young people and better
paying jobs for youths and programs to allow youngsters to learn
technical skills and reduce school dropout rates and child labor.

In return, the youngsters agreed to avoid violence themselves and
familiarize themselves with topics that affect them.

Costa Rica already has a national plan for the prevention of violence
and the promotion of peace.

The participants at the two-day session agreed that most countries have
policies that focus on social control and repression rather than
addressing the program beforehand with prevention, the United Nations
summary noted.

In El Salvador and Honduras the problems of youth gangs is a major law
enforcement challenge. Policy makers in Costa Rica have said that lack
of opportunity is what leads youth into crime.

The central government
is trying to stifle youth crime by social action projects and sports.

The researchers zeroed in on the enzymes that manipulate a key
scaffolding protein for synapses, the connections through which brain
cells communicate. Synapses are weakened and lost in neurodegenerative
diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

"We identified a major underlying mechanism through which synapses are
strengthened and maintained," said Morgan H. Sheng, a professor at the
Boston-based university's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.
"The enzymes involved could be good targets for potential drug
treatments."

A protein called postsynaptic density-95 is a key building block of
synapses. Like the steel girders in a building, it acts as a scaffold
around which other components are assembled. "The more PSD-95
molecules, the bigger and stronger the synapse," said co-author Myung
Jong Kim, a Picower research scientist.

Previous research had shown that
mice genetically altered to have less PSD-95 experienced learning and
memory problems.

In the current study, the researchers identified for the first time the
enzymes that work behind the scenes on PSD-95, adding a phosphate group
to a specific amino acid in the PSD-95 protein. This process — called
phosphorylation — is critical for PSD-95 to do its job in supporting
synapses.

"Adding a phosphate group to a single amino acid allows PSD-95 to
promote synapse size and strength," said Sheng. "Therefore, promoting
this process could help improve cognitive function."

Sheng believes manipulating PSD-95 could lead to bigger and more robust
synapses, which would boost brainpower in both normal and diseased
brains.

"It's possible that promoting PSD-95 phosphorylation could also
help neuropsychiatric illnesses in which synapse function goes awry,
such as schizophrenia, depression and autism," Sheng said.

The researchers reported their work in the Nov. 8 issue of Neuron.

Chávez
says more war in Mideast would bring $200 oil

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has warned that oil prices
could more than double to $200 a barrel if the United States attacked
Iran or Venezuela.

Chávez made the comment Saturday during an opening speech in
Riyadh. The session was a summit of the Organization of Petroeum
Exporting Countries.

Before heading to the summit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was
in Bahrain and played down the prospect of a possible war with the
United States, saying he did not believe there would be any new war in
the region.

The two-day gathering of the
petroleum exporting countries is only the third summit since its
founding in 1960.

In ministerial talks Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said
the organization should avoid declaring concern about the weakening
value of the U.S. dollar, saying the mention of it from these nations
could have a further impact.

Iran and Venezuela are pressing to hold talks about the dollar at the
summit. Oil is priced in dollars, so the falling value of the currency
contributes to the rising price of oil.
The discussion Friday was mistakenly broadcast to journalists via a
closed-circuit television system.

Another
strong aftershock hits off Chile on third day after killer quake

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

A U.S. Geological agency says an earthquake has struck off the coast of
northern Chile, the latest in a string of quakes shaking the region
since Wednesday.

Saturday's tremor hit at a shallow depth of 7 kilometers below the
surface and struck at a 6.0 magnitude. It

The Houston Dynamo has repeated as champions of U.S. Major League
Soccer. The Dynamo won the MLS Cup Sunday with a 2-1 comeback victory
over the New England Revolution at RFK Stadium in Washington,.

The title game was the first to feature the same two teams from the
previous championship. New England got on the scoreboard first
with a goal by Taylor Twellman in the 20th minute. But the second half
belonged to Houston.

Zimbabwean international Joseph Ngwenya got the equalizer for Houston
from close range. Canadian Dwayne De Rosario's powerful 12-meter header
in the 74th minute was the game-winning goal.

Houston becomes just the second major league soccer club to win
back-to-back championships. DC United won the league's first two titles
in 1996 and 1997. De Rosario also scored the game-winning goal in the
2001 game when the franchise was known as the San Jose Earthquakes.

"In 2001 it was
special," said De Rosario. "And I think this one is
even more special because just the fact that we are the second team now
to go back-to-back. And just to make history in the league again, to go
back-to-back is special a moment. And I think this moment will live in
our hearts forever."

This is the third straight year New England has lost in the title
match. New England defender Jay Heaps says he is disappointed with the
way his team lost.

"We did not take our chances," said Heaps. "But at the same time we
have been a great defensive team during these playoffs. And I think we
are a little disappointed that we let in even a scrappy goal. A great
goal, you have to tip your hat. But a scrappy goal. We feel like we
have defended scrappy goals all year. And to let one in is a little
disheartening."

In 2005 the Revolution lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Galaxy, and
last year New England also lost to Houston, beaten in a penalty kick
shootout following overtime.

Federico Ramírez won the Ruta de los Conquistadores for the
fourth time Saturday with an overall time of 17 hours, 40 minutes and
21 seconds.

Susan Haywood of the United States won the women's title at 22 hours,
50 minutes and 6 seconds.

Both had been on the coast-to-coast trail for four days.

Ramírez, a Costa Rican, finished third just a few seconds behind
Frenchman Thomas Dietsch and Swiss biker Thomas Zahnd in the fourth leg
of the route that ended at Playa Bonita near Limón. But his
overall time for the four days was enough to get him the championship.
The final leg began at Aquiares in Turrialba,

Ms. Haywood also did not finish first in the fourth stage. She was
behind Louise Kobin but had accumulated enough of a lead that she
took the title.

Race organizers found the railroad bridge over the Río Matina to
be in such bad shape that the bike racers were detoured onto the main
highway, adding a kilometer to the race distance.

This was the 15th competition of what organizers call the toughest bike
race in the world.

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